The obituary in the UK's "The Independent" newspaper for Tony Rose said "A beautifully relaxed interpreter of traditional song, with rare warmth and intimacy, Tony Rose made an indelible mark on the British folk scene. Emerging during the 1970s when folk clubs were still a force to be reckoned with, he was wholly committed to the grass roots scene, eschewing the seemingly sexier terrain of folk rock bands, modern song and political material that seduced so many of his contemporaries.
He loved traditional music and while it never brought him riches – indeed he returned to his first job as a teacher when the folk clubs themselves hit a recession in the late 1980s – he saw no reason to deviate widely from it. Accompanying himself on guitar and English concertina, he established an easy style that was instantly identifiable, putting him on a par with such giants of the era as Martin Carthy and Nic Jones.
Born in Exeter in 1941, Rose was smitten by folk song at Oxford University in the early 1960s, where he had won a scholarship to study Modern Languages at Queen's College. He first heard the British folk pioneers Louis Killen, Shirley Collins, Alex Campbell and Johnny Handle at the university's Heritage Society. He was also profoundly influenced by another West Country singer, Cyril Tawney, the ex-Navy man turned songwriter. Rose cut his musical teeth at his local folk club, the Jolly Porter in Exeter, where he became an occasional member of the resident band the Journeymen.
He moved to London to become a teacher in 1965 but, offered more and more gigs on the burgeoning folk scene, he became a professional singer in 1969. His first album, Young Hunting, in 1970 had a huge impact, mixing West Country songs like "The Bellringing" and "Tavistock Goosey Fair" with comic ditties and testing ballads like "Golden Vanitee" and "Blackwater Side".
With his rich, lyrical voice, a repertoire of largely unfamiliar material and erudite introductions, the long-haired Rose swiftly became an important member of the second wave of the folk revival. The subsquent albums Under The Greenwood Tree in 1971 (with more complex arrangements and also involving Dolly Collins and Peter Knight) and On Banks Of Green Willow in 1976 enhanced his reputation further. On Banks Of Green Willow particularly confirmed his status as a great singer, tackling epic ballads like "The Bonny Hind", "Lord Randall" and "Fanny Blair". Of all his recorded work this was his tour de force.
In the late 1970s he formed a folk "supergroup", Bandoggs, with Pete and Christine Coe and his close friend Nic Jones, in which Rose played, among other things, mouth organ and performed a storming version of Loudon Wainwright's "Swimming Song". Despite acclaimed live work, the group suffered financial and logistical problems, and split up without recording.
Rose returned to his solo career, releasing the 1982 album Poor Fellows (the title track was drawn from Peter Bellamy's groundbreaking folk opera The Transports). This encompassed contemporary song for the first time with thoughtful arrangements of Bob Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather" and Richard Thompson's "Down Where The Drunkards Roll". While the album also featured traditional material like "The Yarmouth Tragedy" and "Clerk Saunders", Rose's sense of the absurd was illustrated by the inclusion of his grave interpretation of the kitsch pop standard "The Three Bells," a song he was even occasionally prevailed upon to sing in French as an encore at gigs.
But as the folk scene constricted, artists relying exclusively on the club circuit struggled and Rose ultimately returned to teaching. However, he remained a familiar figure on the scene, gigging occasionally and regularly turning up at West Country folk events such as the Padstow May Day celebrations and Sidmouth Folk Festival. He also worked as a folk journalist.
In 1999 he retired from teaching and made an unlikely return with a new album, Bare Bones, released on his own Boneshaker label, which largely featured new versions of old songs no longer available. Sounding as good as he ever did, he was still easing himself back into the circuit when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2001. He died in June 2002."
He recorded several LPs for the Trailer label in the 1970s, which outrageously have remained unavailable since Trailer's bankruptcy.
Basket Of Eggs
Tony Rose Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Their pockets were both lined with gold,
And as together they were talking,
A fair little maid they did behold,
With a little basket of eggs standing by her,
As she lay down to take her ease.
To carry it for her one of them offered.
The answer was: "Sir, if you please."
So it's one of these sailors he took the little basket.
"There's eggs in the basket, please take care;
And if by chance you should out-walk me,
At the Half-way House please leave them there."
Behold these sailors, they did outwalk her,
The Half-way House they did pass by.
The pretty damsel she laughed at their fancy,
And on the sailors she kept her eye.
Oh it's when these two sailors came into an ale-house,
There they did call for a pint of wine,
It's "Landlord, landlord, what fools in the nation!
This pretty maid from her eggs we have twined.
Landlord, landlord, bring us some bacon.
We have got these eggs and we'll have some dressed."
Behold these sailors were very much mistaken,
As you shall say when you hear the rest.
Oh 'twas then that the landlord he went unto the basket,
Expecting there some eggs for to find.
He said: "Young man, you're very much mistaken,
Instead of eggs I found a child."
Then one of them sat down to weeping,
The other said: "It's not worth while.
Here's fifty guineas I'll give to the baby
If any woman will take the child."
This pretty little damsel was sitting by the fire
And she had a shawl drawn over her face.
She said: "I'll take it and I'll kindly use it,
But first I must see the money paid."
One of the sailors he threw down the money,
Great favour to the babe was shown.
"Well since it is so, then let's all be friendly,
For you know, this baby is yours and mine."
For it's "Don't you remember a-dancing with Nancy,
As long ago as last Easter day?"
"Oh yes, I do, and it pleased my fancy,
And now the fiddler I have paid."
One of the sailors he went to the basket
And he kicked the basket over and o'er.
"Well, since it is so, may we be all contented,
But I'm hanged if I'll like eggs any more."
The lyrics of Tony Rose's song Basket of Eggs tell the story of two sailors who meet a fair little maid carrying a basket of eggs as they walk through Sandbank fields. One of the sailors offers to carry the basket for her and she agrees. As they walk, the sailors outpace the little maid and come across an ale-house, where they decide to order some wine. Without knowing it, they have taken the little maid's basket of eggs, which actually contained a newborn baby. The landlord discovers this and the sailors offer the baby to any woman who will take it. The little maid, who has been watching everything unfold, steps forward, asks for payment, and agrees to take care of the child. The sailors reveal that one of them had danced with her previously and paid the fiddler, implying that the child is his. In the end, the sailors come to terms with the situation, but one of them declares that he will never like eggs again.
The lyrics of Basket of Eggs deal with themes of mistaken identity, responsibility, and consequences. The sailors' mistake of taking the wrong basket leads to the discovery of an abandoned child, which they try to pass off to someone else for care. The little maid takes responsibility for the child, but only after ensuring that she is compensated. The sailors' revelation of a previous romantic encounter with the maid suggests that they might be responsible for the child's abandonment, but the ambiguity of the lyrics leaves this open to interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
Down in Sandbank fields, two sailors were a-walking,
Their pockets were both lined with gold,
And as together they were talking,
A fair little maid they did behold,
With a little basket of eggs standing by her,
As she lay down to take her ease.
While walking around Sandbank fields, two wealthy sailors saw a young lady resting with a basket of eggs by her side.
To carry it for her one of them offered.
The answer was: "Sir, if you please."
One of the sailors offered to carry the basket for the lady, she accepted.
So it's one of these sailors he took the little basket.
"There's eggs in the basket, please take care;
And if by chance you should out-walk me,
At the Half-way House please leave them there."
The sailor took the basket and was told to take care of the eggs and leave them at the Half-way House if he should reach there before the lady.
Behold these sailors, they did outwalk her,
The Half-way House they did pass by.
The pretty damsel she laughed at their fancy,
And on the sailors she kept her eye.
The sailors outpaced the lady and passed by the Half-way House. She laughed at them and continued to follow them.
Oh it's when these two sailors came into an ale-house,
There they did call for a pint of wine,
It's "Landlord, landlord, what fools in the nation!
This pretty maid from her eggs we have twined.
When the sailors went to an ale-house, they boasted about tricking the lady and said it made them fools.
Landlord, landlord, bring us some bacon.
We have got these eggs and we'll have some dressed."
The sailors asked for bacon to cook with the eggs, thinking they had them in the basket.
Behold these sailors were very much mistaken,
As you shall say when you hear the rest.
The sailors were wrong, and this would become clear later in the story.
Oh 'twas then that the landlord he went unto the basket,
Expecting there some eggs for to find.
He said: "Young man, you're very much mistaken,
Instead of eggs I found a child."
The landlord found a child instead of eggs in the basket and told the sailor he was mistaken.
Then one of them sat down to weeping,
The other said: "It's not worth while.
Here's fifty guineas I'll give to the baby
If any woman will take the child."
One sailor cried while the other offered fifty guineas to any woman who would take the child.
This pretty little damsel was sitting by the fire
And she had a shawl drawn over her face.
She said: "I'll take it and I'll kindly use it,
But first I must see the money paid."
The lady by the fire offered to take the child, but only after receiving payment for it.
One of the sailors he threw down the money,
Great favour to the babe was shown.
"Well since it is so, then let's all be friendly,
For you know, this baby is yours and mine."
One sailor paid for the child, and they decided to co-parent the child.
For it's "Don't you remember a-dancing with Nancy,
As long ago as last Easter day?"
"Oh yes, I do, and it pleased my fancy,
And now the fiddler I have paid."
The sailors realized they had both danced with Nancy on Easter and decided to share the child.
One of the sailors he went to the basket
And he kicked the basket over and o'er.
"Well, since it is so, may we be all contented,
But I'm hanged if I'll like eggs any more."
One of the sailors kicked the basket and joked that he wouldn't like eggs anymore. They accepted the situation and moved on.
Contributed by Jayce R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Per filo e segno
🇮🇹Versione in italiano https://youtu.be/zLe5tHN0XsE
Moon Lampje
Thank you so much for this tutorial❤. It is going viral at the moment in several Dutch crochet groups, and for good reason!
Per filo e segno
Thank you so much ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Dan Grobo
Heb je een beschrijving in het Nederlands?
Katrina Keane
Thank you so much. The pattern is so easy to follow. I've made and gifted 9 of these over the last 5 days to my work colleagues who love them ❤
Per filo e segno
oh wow! Than you so much ❤️
JymThomas80
Thank you. I have done several of these. Your instructions are clear and easy to follow. I like how you took the time to recap on your instructions 😊
Per filo e segno
Thank you so much ❤️
loenkwiep
Thank you for this! And for allowing your design to be written down and shared in a Dutch facebookgroup. Now I can't loose it or forget where it is. 😉❣
Per filo e segno
Thank you 😘